Love Changes Everything
by DemeterFluff
Summary: Please don't complain about this being too long... I wrote it over a long period of time, and I actually like it! It's about Demeter, Munkustrap, Bombalurina, Rum Tum Tugger, Macavity, and Jennyanydots!


Untitled

Demeter sadly let a tear roll down her cheek. Her sister, Bombalurina's words still burned vividly in her mind, and still hurt as much as they did when she had said them.

"You'll never be any good at dancing!" Bomba had screamed in a furious rage at her, for merely questioning Bomba's strenuous dancing practice methods. "You are horrible, and you always will be!"

Demi had run off to be on her own after that, tears of pain and sadness streaming down her face. She never let Munkustrap or Bombalurina see her weeping. Still, she had to do it. She had to let out her emotions and get the sadness she felt most of the time out of her system. It was a horrible sadness that penetrated her thinking no matter what she did. The knowledge that she failed miserably at everything that she tried to do; her sister wouldn't tell her that she did if it weren't true.

Over the years, Demi had learned that Bomba was always right. If for some reason she wasn't, then she would make it so that she was. Bomba had told her far too many times how horrible she was at everything from story-telling to dancing, that she was beginning to wonder if Bomba might not be right about those things, too.

The thought alone made tears flow from her eyes anew, yet she remained absolutely silent and even somewhat withdrawn. She didn't want any one to find her, least of all Munkustrap. He'd think her very childish if he saw her crying.

She wondered if he'd ever realized that she liked him as more than just a friend. Probably not. It seemed beyond obvious to her that he was much more attracted to Bomba than he ever would be to her.

But what Jellicle tom wasn't? What tom at all, for that matter, wasn't? Bomba was known throughout London for being very sexy and beautiful. In all her life, Demi had never met a tom who was more attracted to her than her sister. That was why she had no desire to find a mate unless she absolutely had to. The first thing she'd know after she got pregnant with his kittens, she'd find him sleeping with her sister.

*I wonder if I can do anything decently well?* she silently asked herself. By then, her tears had nearly stopped, and she sighed softly. She couldn't think of anything she could do well. Not that she'd ever been able to console herself that way.

Deciding that she was far out of hearing range from any other Jellicles, she started to sing. She sang in a pure, operatic voice that she had never let anyone know she had. Singing that way had a strange, somehow calming and soothing effect over her.

Demi had never sung words in her calming operatic voice, simply whatever syllable or sound that first came into her mind.

She sang for a long time, but to her, it seemed a only short time had passed. It was almost sundown when she finally stopped, and then it was only because undoubtedly someone would be looking for her soon, and she didn't want them to hear her. She started to walk away, back toward the Junkyard.

"You have a beautiful voice," a rough male voice from behind her caused her to abruptly stop. She didn't recognize the voice, and it certainly wasn't Jellicle in nature. She whirled around, and found that she did not recognize who she saw.

"I've been watching you a lot recently, Demi, but I never knew you had operatic abilities," he continued, ignoring her surprise, and calling her by her Jellicle name.

"Wh-who are y-you?" she stammered, suddenly afraid at the remembrance that she was out of hearing distance from any other Jellicles. "H-how do you know my name?"

"You don't need to know, yet," he answered mysteriously, almost provocatively, as if her were trying to draw her into some sort of trap. He must have succeeded, for Demi felt as if she could no longer control her own actions. She was under his power.

"I've noticed that no one you love seems to notice or appreciate you at all, Demi," he continued further. She tried to speak, but her voice would not obey her.

"I know how you feel," he added. "Stupid, useless, and hated." He saw the understanding in her face. "I can help you live without them... Come closer to me..." he instructed, a mysterious air to his voice.

Involuntarily, her legs carried her across the ground until she stood only a foot away from the stranger. His piercing golden eyes almost seemed to swallow her at the close distance, and her entire body trembled. After a moment, she fainted.

He caught her effortlessly as she fell unconscious, and then lifted her with just as much ease from the ground.

Carrying her with him, the strange tom vanished from the Junkyard...

*~*~*

"I couldn't have made her feel *that* bad," Bomba told Munkustrap. It was sometime near midnight, and they were both exhausted from searching for Demi. "Could I?" she added, a nervous undertone to her naturally contralto voice.

They had found Demi's scent a little earlier, but it abruptly ended. If she was kidnapped, her captor must have been able to somehow cover his scent with magic.

"I don't know," Munku replied. "It was rather cruel of you to tell her that she'd never be able to be a dancer." *Or a singer or a story-teller...* he added to himself, because he didn't want Bomba to feel too guilty about her sister's sudden and bizarre disappearance.

"But she knows I didn't mean it!" Bomba declared stubbornly, but her tone of voice told Munku that she didn't know if it were necessarily the truth. Bomba's eyes showed her inner feeling of worry, that she kept hidden from the Jellicles most of the time.

"We'll find Demi sometime tomorrow," Munku promised. He leapt lightly atop a broken table and from there continued onto the sewer pipe. He laid down, but found that sleep eluded him.

He watched Bomba slink inside of the old oven, and wondered why he hadn't told her that he knew the identity of Demi's kidnapper. He also knew where to find him.

That was why he'd promised Bomba that they'd find Demi the next day. He tried not to make promises that he couldn't keep.

*~*~*

Demi woke up, snuggled in the arms of the strange tom. She had no idea where she was, or where he was taking her.

He quickly noticed that she was awake. His golden eyes didn't look at all as fierce as they had before.

"Sleep, Demi," he murmured, and once again, she felt compelled to obey his request. She obeyed, despite her weak attempts to remain awake.

As she closed her eyes, he smiled at her. He glanced up, and saw that the deep violet of the sky was slowly fading to pale blue near the horizon.

His roundabout path to avoid other cats had taken him far out of his way, and it had taken him much longer than expected than expected to return to his hidden lair than it normally did.

*~*~*

Bomba awoke slightly after dawn. She yawned, and stepped out of the oven and into the Junkyard. She glanced around for Munkustrap, and found him asleep on the nearby drainpipe.

He awoke almost as soon as she noticed him. He looked at her for a moment before jumping off of the tube. Somehow, Bomba could tell that he hadn't slept well that night. She knew he was worried about Demi. He cared a lot about her, but she never seemed to notice because she was always too busy trying to please Bomba instead.

"Shall we get going?" he asked, glancing around to make sure there were no kittens around who might want to go with them and cause trouble.

"Do you even know where to look?" Bomba inquired. She studied his face to see if she could discover his answer before he said it, but his face remained blank.

"Yes," he replied. "I know exactly where to look," Bomba was visibly startled. "In fact, it's the only place she could be."

"Where?!" asked Bomba incredulously, her surprise very evident in her expressions. Why hadn't he told her sooner that he knew exactly where to find her missing sister?! Why hadn't they gone the previous night?!

"Just trust me," Munku said. "I know the only person who knows how to cover his scent. I know where his lair is, too. I can bet you almost anything that that's where we'll find Demi."

Bomba was astonished and partially dumbfounded. How in Bastet's name would he know something like that? But Bomba knew enough to trust the silver tabby.

"Then lead the way," Bomba replied. They started to leave, but were interrupted by a kittenish voice.

"What'cha doin'?" it asked. Looking around, they noticed Mirza, standing near the giant tire, watching them curiously.

Munku groaned under his breath. He'd hoped that they wouldn't run into any kittens. Kittens, he knew, would only stall them with their incessant questions.

"It's none of your business," Bomba snapped, hostility clear on her low voice. Mirza backed away nervously.

Munku almost blurted out that she had no right to be so rude, especially when all Mirza had done was asked them a question. He also wanted to remind her that that was what had made Demi run away in the first place, allowing her to be kidnapped. If she had been kidnapped. He was beginning to wonder if she hadn't run into the tom he suspected and then willingly gone with him.

"It may seem rude, Mirza," he said instead. "But we really have to go." At this, Mirza looked at him questioningly. "Demi's been kidnapped," he explained. "And we're going to find her."

Mirza nodded as if she didn't quite get it, but vaguely understood what she had been told. Munku and Bomba left before Mirza could question them further on the matter.

*~*~*

"Ah... I see that you're awake," the strange tom said. Demi had opened her eyes only a few seconds earlier and was now looking around the room she found herself in.

She was in some sort of small human office that had obviously been devoid of any actual human habitation for several years. The only light in the room came from a blazing fireplace across the room from her. She was lying on a pile of blankets, with a flannel one laid over her. She did not see the tom who had apparently brought her there, so she was startled when he stroked her cheek with his paw.

"I didn't mean to startle you, Demi," he told her, his voice oddly soothing and calming to her. "You don't need to be afraid of me."

Demi looked up at him, and for the first time noticed how much he looked like Munkustrap. Except for his brilliant red and black fur which was streaked with white, and his golden eyes (Munkustrap's were blue), he and Munku could've been brothers.

She almost told him that she wasn't afraid of him, that she simply hadn't known he was there, but refrained from doing so. She was afraid he'd think her snobby.

"You'll like it here, Demi," he promised her, as though it were a fact merely because he told her it was.

"Where is 'here'?" she asked, curiosity getting the better of her when she knew she shouldn't have let it.

"Must you know?" he replied, using a question, with a quizzical glance at her. Demi looked away from his eyes.

"I suppose not," she said at last. "Can you at least tell me your name, then, sir?"

"That will come," he explained. "But it will come later. Right now I think it would be better if I didn't tell you."

Demi nodded in a vague sort of way, and considered asking him if she would get to go home, but figured that she knew the answer: no. Instead, she asked:

"Why did you bring me here?" The mysterious tom merely shrugged, but made no attempt to answer her question for a moment.

"I have my reasons," he replied at last. "None of which I feel the particular need to tell you about right now."

Demi was terribly confused and it showed. This tom had brought her here, where 'here' was, he would not say, and would not tell her anything for that matter! She sighed out of shear exasperation.

"I'm sorry I'm frustrating you, Demi," he told her, "But I'm certain that you wouldn't understand my motives." Demi sighed again. It was so hard to accept his answers! She didn't want to be kept in the dark. But she forced herself to listen and not beg for the answers to her questions.

*Maybe this is some sort of dream, or a hallucination," she thought. She wondered if he could read her mind or if her emotions were just extremely obvious.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. The tom noticed her jump when she heard the sound, and he laughed a little.

"Don't be scared, Demi," he said. "Nothing here can or will hurt you." He paused. "I will be back shortly. Do not touch anything." The last words were menacing, and despite what he'd told her, she was a bit afraid of him.

He then departed, closing the door quietly behind him.

*~*~*

"How long is this going to take?" asked Bomba. Her paws were sore from stepping on at least twenty sharp rocks along the way.

"I don't imagine it'll be much longer," Munku replied. He didn't mention that he'd only been to their destination once. Still, he remembered exactly where it was. "It's not too far from here."

"Good," Bomba sighed. "My paws hurt!" she complained rather loudly. Louder, in fact, than she had really wanted to.

Munku almost snapped "I don't care!", but he didn't want to be offensive. Instead, he told her:

"Stay quiet. If he hears you, we're in deep trouble." He didn't say why. Bomba would get the idea. Hopefully.

If she didn't get it, she didn't say anything about it. She remained silent until Munku stopped her in front of an abandoned warehouse.

"Here?" she asked, and in reply, he nodded. "Now what? Do we just storm in there or something?" she continued, curiously.

"No," he replied, shaking his head for emphasis. "His guards will know we're here in an instant if we try that. Besides, we don't have a big enough force to combat them like that, anyway."

"I'm guessing that now we have to sneak inside," Bomba said. Munku nodded again. Bomba hated how quiet he was being. If they were caught, no big deal. They would get out of it. "How are we supposed to do that?"

"Follow me," Munku instructed. He led Bomba over to the nearby air vent opening. "Help me pry this up." Together, they pulled it off of the building. Unfortunately, it came off with a tremendous crash, and Munku was certain that everyone from London to China must have heard it.

"Let's go!" Bomba said, "Before someone who heard that gets over here!" In unison, they leapt inside the air duct, and ran down it as fast as they could, remaining soundless.

*~*~*

Demi continued to observe her room for a few minutes, but eventually decided to go back to sleep. Apparently, she'd been unconscious, but it hadn't had the same effect as sleeping, and she was exhausted.

She didn't hear the stranger reenter the room. Again, he closed the door silently. He came over to where she lay, and bent down and kissed her lightly on the cheek when he noticed that she was fast asleep. He then exited the room once more.

*~*~*

"Got any idea where we are?" Bomba whispered to Munku. She couldn't see very far past him in the cramped air duct.

"Not yet," Munku replied. "I have to find an opening into a room before I'll know for sure." Bomba sighed in annoyance. It had to be around noon already. Maybe later. It was taking far too long to find her sister.

Munku strained his eyes, trying to see if there were any openings into rooms ahead of them. He didn't see any. Then a thought struck him. If they were over the main area of the warehouse, he'd have to look down to see any vents.

Sure enough, about fifteen feet ahead, there was a vent on the floor. "We're above the main warehouse," Munku told Bomba. She was relieved to finally know where they were.

"So where exactly in here do you think she would be-?" asked Bomba, but she didn't finish, if she'd intended to say anything more. She tripped over the vent, and slammed into the wall.

"Are you all right?" Munku half asked, half exclaimed. Bomba shook her head to rid it of the pain of the impact and the slight dizziness that followed.

"I think so..." she mumbled, a dazed look on her face. Munku didn't believe her, but let her have her way despite his concern, and they continued onward.

The air duct was very dark, and they had to almost feel their way around, except near the sparsely place air vent openings, which were no longer on the floor, but on the walls. The narrow space was cramped for the two cats, and they found it hard to turn the corners.

At every opening they came to, they looked down and studied the room below. They never saw any sign of Demi, or her kidnapper.

*~*~*

The tom looked up toward the air duct, as he heard something from inside. He smiled almost viciously. He knew if it was the Jellicles looking for Demi, they wouldn't find her unless they came down and searched each room from the ground, for he'd deliberately placed her makeshift bed almost underneath the air duct, so anyone looking through it wouldn't find her.

And he would be waiting for the intruders when they got to the end of the air duct. He would make sure they never left his lair alive.

*~*~*

"I don't see any more rooms ahead," Munku said forlornly, wondering if he'd lost Demi forever before getting a chance to tell her about his feelings for her. "It seems I may have been wrong..." He felt terrible about letting Bomba down.

"No," Bomba countered. "I can feel it. She's here somewhere." Munku knew he couldn't win a fight with Bomba, so he didn't bother to try arguing. Besides, he knew that she and Demi had a vague psychic link, although it was nothing like that of Tantomile and Coricopat.

"Then it looks like we'll have to get out of here, and search each room," Munku replied, "But we'll have to be tremendously careful not to be seen or heard." Bomba nodded, and he hoped she would actually listen to him for once. "The only light I see that looks like a way out is also the end of this duct," he explained. "We'll have to somehow pry it off and get out." Again, Bomba nodded as her response.

"Let's do it!" she said, a bit too enthusiastically for the given situation, but Munku didn't say anything. He didn't want to get in an argument in such a dangerous situation.

Their combined strength made removing the end panel of the duct easy to do, and they leapt out with great ease.

They were taken aback by finding a tall tom with bright red fur standing before them. His stare was almost paralyzing. His wild red, black and white fur stood almost completely on end, and he was a terrifying sight.

"Shit..." Munku muttered under his breath. Normally, Bomba knew Munku would never swear, so obviously the situation was bad. Very bad.

"I figured you would come here," began the tom. "And it's all the better now. I can kill you now, Munkustrap." Bomba was startled. How could this tom know Munku? She decided not to ask, knowing that it was an inappropriate time.

"Where's Demi, Macavity?!" Munku demanded, angrily. For the first time in a long time, he let his anger show. Macavity laughed. His laugh was frighteningly evil, just as his appearance was.

"You think I would tell *you*?!" he laughed again. "Why in the holy name of Bastet would you think that?!" He looked Munku in the eye. "I love her. Whether she loves me remains to be seen. I am not going to give her back to you. If she loves me, she will live as my queen. If not..." he did not finish, but Munku knew what he intended to do. Probably rape Demi and kill her when the kittens were born. He was not about to let that happen.

"I don't think you will tell me," Munku replied, suppressing his anger towards Macavity. "I intend on making you tell me."

"Make me." The challenge was accepted, and Munku pounced for Macavity, who unfortunately was the larger tom, although he was only slightly larger.

Bomba understood that Munku was keeping Macavity out of the way, and that she was supposed to search for Demi in the meantime. She darted off into an adjoining room.

"Where's your friend going, Munku?" Macavity taunted the silver tabby as they struggled against each other. "Now she's not here to help you..."

"That's none of your business, Macavity!" Munku hissed. He reached out, and his claws caught Macavity's arm. Mac growled menacingly, and kicked Munku, knocking him over backwards. Using that to his advantage, Munku kicked Mac's feet out from under him, then sprang to his feet. Mac sank his claws into Munku's legs, and pulled him to the ground yet again.

Munku kicked Mac with all the strength he could muster, sending him sprawling against a nearby wall.

"Had enough?" asked Munku, panting heavily, praying to Sekhmet that Macavity's answer would be yes, although deep inside, he doubted it. Mac rose slowly to his feet again.

"No." he said, his voice devoid of emotions. He pounced at the smaller tom, with his claws ready to kill...

*~*~*

Demi heard the door creak open, and naturally assumed it was the tom returning, so she didn't bother to turn around and face the door.

"Demi?" she heard Bomba whisper. "Demi? Are you in here?" Demi's first reaction was to sit up. Startled, she whirled around.

"Bomba?" she asked her voice not coming out as much more than a whisper either. "What are you doing here? How did you find this place?"

"Munku and I came to save you..."

"Save me from what?" Demi wanted to know. No one had harmed her. No one had mistreated her. No one had so much as even yelled at her. It was a far different situation than it ever would have been for her at the Junkyard.

"Macavity..." Bomba began.

"Who's Macavity?" Demi demanded. She suddenly felt light headed and woozy, and almost guessed what Bomba would tell her next.

"I'm guessing the tom who kidnapped you..." Bomba replied, wishing her sister knew more about it so she didn't have to waste time explaining everything that had happened.

"But I wasn't kidnapped," Demi insisted. "I fainted, and he, uh, Macavity, I guess, brought me here until I woke up."

*I'm sure,* Bomba thought. *Not with the way he's fighting Munku to the death...* She chose her words to Demi carefully, trying to convince her to come back. "We thought you had been kidnapped, with the way your scent ended so suddenly..." She deliberately delayed telling Demi that Macavity was trying to kill Munkustrap because he'd asked what had happened to her.

"Well I wasn't. And I'm surprised you care. I thought you hated me," Demi said. Tears welled in her eyes as she recalled the hatred with which Bomba had accused her the previous day. She turned away from her sister, determined not to let Bomba see her cry.

"Demi..." Bomba practically begged, "I never hated you... I thought you knew that... I just let my frustration get the better of me. Don't make a decision that will affect the rest of your life without letting me apologize for what I said to you."

Demi was taken aback. Bomba had never apologized to her. Not even once. She'd always known somehow that Bomba didn't mean it, but this time it was different. She'd been utterly convinced that Bomba hated her. And she was certain that she didn't want to make Bomba unhappy by staying.

"You wa-want to a-apologize?" she asked, incredulous. "You- you've never apologized to me before..."

"I know, but now I realize how much I must have hurt you, and how much I'd miss you if you were gone, even for a day, or less than a day," Bomba admitted. It felt strange to finally tell Demeter how she felt, that she needed her sister around. "And Munku missed you worse than I did." she added, finally deciding to tell Demi about his feelings for her. He'd often asked her how he could get Demi to notice him, but she never had an answer. "That's why he came with to save you," she continued, "And we have to hurry if you're coming, because right now, he's fighting a life or death battle with Macavity to save you..."

*~*~*

Munku panted, and tried to anticipate Macavity's next move, but didn't expect him to pounce on him. Mac slammed Munku into the wall, catching his claws on Munku's shoulders, instantly tearing gashes in his flesh.

In retaliation, Munku kicked Mac off, even though it tore the wounds in his shoulders even worse that before. The wounds stung horribly, but he ignored the pain, instead, focusing on the battle he was in the midst of.

Macavity rose to his feet again, but made no attack, noticing that Munku's companion and Demi had appeared in the doorway. Demi was horrified to see how far the fighting had gone. To Macavity's disgust, Demi, whom he had treated so kindly and taken from her emotionally abusive sister, ran to his enemy and threw her arms around him. Now his love for Demi vanished.

He roughly pulled her away from Munku. Angrily, he glared at her, wondering how she had made that decision, and how Bomba had found her in the first place.

Demi's eyes were wide with fear, and she was too afraid to say anything. Her body was numb with fear as well, and she couldn't move, even though she wanted desperately to run away. She knew his claws were unsheathed and that he intended to kill her.

A growl rose in Macavity's throat, but it was cut short when Munku tackled him, knocking him to the ground, causing him to release Demi. Macavity was stunned by the blow, and while he was down, the three Jellicles fled.

*~*~*

They got back to the Junkyard near sundown. The sky was filled with brilliant oranges and greens. It was as if Bastet herself had granted them a beautiful sunset to celebrate their victory over Macavity.

Instead of staring in wonder at the glorious sky, Demi looked at the ground, and she wore the expression of shame. She was terribly embarrassed about what trouble she had caused.

"What's wrong?" asked Munku, slipping his arms around her, lovingly. He somehow knew without being told that Bomba had told Demi about his feelings for her.

Demi momentarily choked on her words before answering him slowly. "Macavity could've killed you... You risked your life to save me..."

"As if I wouldn't," he replied nonchalantly. "I care a lot about you, Demi."

"Ah, cut the shit," Bomba hissed, obviously eavesdropping nearby. "He loves you," she proclaimed, loud enough for everyone in the Junkyard to hear. Munku rolled his eyes at Bomba's obnoxiousness, but he didn't deny it.

A huge silvery crescent moon appeared on the horizon opposite the glorious colors of the sunset, casting a faint glow over the peaceful Junkyard which they called home. Demi could hardly believe that she'd almost convinced herself that she didn't like it there.

A loud crash that entirely knocked over a junk pile made Demi jump. She glanced in the direction of the sound.

Tumbling into the Junkyard came Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer, the notorious Jellicle Cat-Burglar cats. The other Jellicles knew what they'd been doing: stealing from their humans.

"If you'll excuse me," Munku said, "I need to have another talk with *those* two." Demi nodded, knowing it was usually regarded as his duty to scold the Cat-Burglars when they returned from stealing. Not that Mungo and Teazer ever listened to him.

Demi heard Bomba sigh softly behind her. She found her sister happily gazing upon the beautiful moon, the centre of their wonderful, dance-based culture. The moon didn't indicate that it would be time for the Jellicle Ball anytime soon, though.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Both queens turned simultaneously, only to see the Rum Tum Tugger standing a few feet away. Demi knew he was there to see Bomba, and she suspected that there was something between them, even though neither one would admit it.

Figuring that Tugger and Bomba would rather not have her around, Demi snuck off. She decided that she should find a good place to sleep, at least for a while. She knew she wouldn't sleep well after having been asleep or unconscious (she hadn't decided which it had really been) for so long earlier that day.

She decided that an old love seat would do nicely, since it's cushions were still in relatively good condition. She wondered for a moment why it had been thrown out in the first place.

Demi shivered slightly. A sudden breeze had chilled the autumn evening air. She snuggled against the cushions of the love seat, and tried to doze off, but found it difficult to find sleep.

*~*~*

"Yes," Bomba told Tugger. "Bastet's moon is beautiful tonight." She wondered what he was up to, sneaking up on her like that. She barely noticed Demi wander off.

"That may be," Tugger replied, "But the moon's beauty pales in comparison to yours." Involuntarily, Bomba felt herself blush; something that she hadn't done in a long while.

The burning in her cheeks only increased in intensity as Tugger reached forward and lightly stroked her cheek with his paw.

Bomba looked into Tugger's eyes, and for once, didn't see the egotistical, selfish look she usually saw. Instead, his eyes were like molten pools of gold and amber swirling infinitely. Apparently, he was only like this when there were no kittens around.

For the first time, Bomba felt something drawing her soul to Tugger.

*~*~*

Macavity growled angrily. Where had his rats been when he needed them?! Hiding because they'd heard something in the air duct. They were all imbeciles! He decided that he would have to get some cats as his agents to replace some of the dim-witted rats. At least cats were braver and had some sense.

That would have to come later. Right now, he wanted Demeter back. He knew he wanted her to be his queen, but he'd never gotten to see if she loved him. Now Munkustrap would poison her mind against him.... It would take some very strong spells to completely and permanently erase that from her memory.

He'd found when he first kidnapped Demi from her home that her resistance to spells and magic was very high. That was why he hadn't been able to simply make her go unconscious and stay that way until he wanted her. Instead, he'd had to make her faint or sleep and hope she didn't wake up. Unfortunately, there was no spell to make her more susceptible to the spells that he had and might use on her.

Mac growled again, this time in frustration. He knew he couldn't possibly lure Demi away again. She'd certainly recognize him if he tried it. There was also no way he could sneak into the Junkyard unnoticed and put a spell on her as she slept; some one would inevitably hear him. He would have to get the Jellicles, and Demi, to come to him, probably by kidnapping someone. But who, that he could easily kidnap, would Demi insist on coming with to rescue?

Suddenly, he remembered the queen who had come with Munkustrap to save Demi. She was probably Demi's sister, whom Demi would want to help rescue. Munku wouldn't say "no" to his lover, would he?

Macavity found himself grinning wickedly...

*~*~*

Demi sighed in despair. It had been well over two hours since she's laid down to sleep, and she was still wide awake. Even worse, she found that she had a horrible headache, which made her head throb.

She shivered again, and wondered why she couldn't get to sleep, even though she actually knew the reason. She just wanted to forget how close she'd been to not wanting to come back to the Jellicle lands, and how close she'd come to not coming back to her home. The thought almost made her shudder.

Sitting up, she stretched her back for a moment, then rose to her feet. She'd had enough sitting and wanted to walk around to get rid of some of her energy.

The moon was now high over head, casting it's silvery glow over everything in the Junkyard, making it seem almost surreal in its beauty and mystery. Demi shuddered involuntarily when she noticed how creepy the Junkyard was late at night.

There was not a Jellicle to be seen in the semi-darkness that surrounded her, yet Demi wasn't truly afraid. This was her home, and there was nothing to be afraid of. At least she hoped there wasn't.

*~*~*

Macavity snuck out of his warehouse lair around midnight. If he was lucky he could be back by two in the morning. This time he wouldn't have to take the route that took four hours, because there would most likely be no one on the streets.

He had no idea where he would find Bomba, for he'd never gone to the Junkyard specifically looking for her. In the few times he come at night to see Demi, he had noticed that Bomba usually didn't sleep anywhere near her sister.

It seemed like no time before he arrived at the moonlit Junkyard. No one stirred that he could see. He quickly muttered the spell that would cover his scent, even though he knew the Jellicles would know he'd done it anyway.

He easily slipped through the piles of junk, searching for a sign that Bombalurina was nearby. The Jellicles were very clever in choosing hiding places in which to sleep, for he never saw any of them.

Before he knew it, he was in the central section of the Junkyard. He stopped, surveying the Junkyard soundlessly.

Demi was sitting alone near the centre of the Junkyard, staring intently at the moon above her. Macavity grinned. Perhaps he wouldn't have to waste his time kidnapping Bomba after all.

Demi had her back to him, and with the moon overhead, his shadow wouldn't alert her of his presence. The spell covering his scent ensured that she wouldn't smell him.

Mac silently approached her, stopping a few feet behind her, so that she wouldn't feel the warmth of his body. He pounced for her, intending to knock the wind out of her until he could cover her mouth so that she couldn't scream.

Demi turned a second before he landed on her, and she never had a chance to scream. She was thrown backward by the impact, and he landed on top of her, one paw clamped over her mouth, stifling any sound that she might try to make, the other paw pinning her arms over her head.

He concentrated on a spell to paralyze her throat, and then yanked a mostly used roll of duct tape from a nearby junk pile with his free paw. He used most of what remained on the roll to bind her paws behind her back, and to tie her ankles together.

She tried to shrink away from him as he bent down and lifted her from the ground. He felt her body tense, and he looked soothingly into her eyes. All he saw was fear. Her emerald eyes which he'd thought were so beautiful had grown wide in absolute terror. He didn't know what to do to relax her, so he concentrated on a spell that was supposed to calm. He'd used this spell on her before she even knew he was there the first time he'd kidnapped her, which was why he knew it would work effectively.

Gradually, her eyes lost their look of intense fear, and her body lost its grip on terror. Then Mac felt more comfortable carrying her back to his lair.

*~*~*

Bomba woke up suddenly. She'd sworn she'd heard Demi scream, even though there was no way Demi could be any where near her. Tugger had invited her to stay at his human's home with him, since it was chilly out and his humans were away for something they called "Thanksgiving", although neither cat thought there was anything special about the day.

"Tugger?" she said, shoving him off the sofa. He hit the ground with a loud thump, and was almost instantly on his feet again.

"What?" he demanded, looking at her somewhat angrily, but she knew he wasn't really mad at her, although he might pretend he was.

"I think something's happened to Demi," she explained. He rolled his eyes, and she felt a bit of frustration. "You don't believe me?" she demanded. "I always know what she feels, and right now she's really afraid of something."

"So?" Tugger asked. "Maybe she's having a nightmare." Bomba looked skeptical.

"She doesn't dream, and if she does, she never remembers it," she told him. "Besides, she's out in the cold by herself. Couldn't we just check on her?"

"Fine," Tugger groaned, not at all happy about having to go out in the cold at midnight. Bomba leapt off the sofa, and the two Jellicles trotted toward the cat door, and from there outside. They were surprised at first by the chilliness of the air.

"It was really warm back in the house," Bomba commented. "Let's hurry, okay?" Tugger nodded, and they hurried off together toward the Junkyard.

*~*~*

"MUNKUSTRAP!!" Munku opened his eyes a crack. He'd recognized the voice of Bombalurina right away, and deduced that she wasn't at all happy because her voice wasn't at its usual low pitch.

"What?" he mumbled. "Has Tugger committed suicide?" The last remark had sounded a little more genuinely hopeful than he'd actually intended for it to be, but he didn't care.

"No," snapped Tugger almost instantly, and Munku knew he'd made a big mistake in saying that.

"Worse than that!" cried Bomba, her voice filled with genuine alarm. "We can't find Demi!" Munku groaned.

"Not again..." He paused. "I'm going to kill Macavity this time..." He knew he probably wouldn't carry out his threat, but he was on the verge of doing so the moment he found the treacherous tom known to them as Macavity.

*~*~*

Macavity set Demi down on the ground, and she was on the verge of crying. Mac sighed. Because of Munkustrap and Bombalurina, there was no way to keep Demi happy while she was with him.

Right now, his mind wasn't strong enough to erase her memories of what had happened. He already had a terrific headache from keeping her throat numb and keeping her calm.

"W-why do y-you keep... keep bringing me here?" Demi asked, her voice faltering and quiet.

"Because I love you, Demi," he told her. "And I want you to be my queen." Demi gasped, as he knew she would. "That's why I keep bringing you here." He looked her in the eye. "And I imagine now there's no prospect of you ever loving me in return."

"You're entirely right," Demi replied, trying to keep her cool and be brave, "There's not. Maybe you thought there was once, maybe you were right, but not now. I've found the love I need at home. Where I belong." Even she was startled by her boldness. Normally, she would've been much more unsure of herself.

"That's too bad, Demi," Macavity hissed, suddenly becoming malicious. "This is your home now, whether you like it or not!"

*~*~*

"How much longer is this going to take?" asked Tugger, complaining loudly, as usual. "I'm freezing my ass off-"

"I don't care," Munku snapped. "By getting me up in the middle of the night, you volunteered yourself to come with." He paused. "And you are coming with." Tugger groaned in protest, but knew any attempt would be futile with Munkustrap, since he was angry.

"Can we please hurry?" Bomba insisted. "There's no telling what Macavity might be doing to Demi..." Her voice showed her concern, although both Munku and Tugger knew that she was trying to hide it.

"If Tugger would stop being so arrogant, we could go faster, Bomba," Munku assured her. Bomba's reply was to glare evilly at Tugger.

"All right, all right," the maned tom said, relenting at last. "I'll shut my mouth and just follow you two."

Bomba grinned. "That's better." Their pace quickened, and they were all apprehensive.

*~*~*

Demi was hurt inside. She'd finally discovered love, only to have it ripped away by someone who didn't care what he did to her emotionally as long as she agreed to love him. She sensed that Macavity would never let the Jellicles be unless she stayed with him. She knew she'd have to stay, to save Munku and Bomba from his wrath.

Macavity saw the look of shear pain in Demi's eyes, and knew that it wasn't physical pain that she was now suffering from.

Tears clouded Demi's eyes, even though she tried to force them back. She didn't want to cry, but it was so hard to accept that she would have to stay with a purely evil tom in order to save everyone she knew and loved. It was even worse knowing that he would never let her so much as see them again. She knew he wouldn't.

"Don't cry, Demi," Mac told her, trying in vain to be comforting to her. "I know this will seem like a horrible thing to do, but I-"

"Get away from her." Macavity slowly turned his head and looked up. Standing in the doorway of the warehouse were Munkustrap, Bombalurina and a bizarre maned tom he knew to be the Rum Tum Tugger.

Macavity smirked. "How about I don't, Munkustrap?" he asked, taunting the other tom, trying to get him to make the first move in a fight.

"Please... don't fight..." Demi pleaded in a weak voice. All the cats turned to face her. "I don't want you to fight. You both say you love me, and if you truly do, you won't fight each other."

Macavity saw his chance. Munkustrap obviously wouldn't fight if Demi didn't want him to... but he wasn't at all about to listen to such a foolish request, even if he did love her. It would be a mistake if he didn't seize the opportunity.

"Look out!" Bomba shouted to Munku when Macavity pounced for him. Because of her warning, he managed to jump out of the way, but barely in time to avoid being hit.

"I knew it," Demi announced, loud enough to stop everyone who was moving. "You don't love me as much as you say you do. I almost considered staying with you so that you'd stop fighting with them, but now I know that you don't care what I say. If you loved me, you would listen to what I asked of you. Munku honored my request, and made no move to attack you, even though he very well could have. Instead, you threw my plea aside and tried to kill him anyway, which proves to me that even if I stayed here the fighting between you and the Jellicles will continue. Therefore, my choice is to go with the Jellicles. They outnumber you, and your hench-rats are such scaredy-cats that they fear us and will never help you, so you cannot hope to win when you inevitably fight. It would be easier for all of us if you would simply let me go."

Everyone remained silent for a few moments, partially because Demi had managed to say all that in one breath. Macavity was the first to speak:

"You actually believe I will let you go?! That's insane, Demi. I will *never* let you go... Never!"

"Cut the shit." Bomba hissed. "We'll make you..." Mac was surprised that Bomba would dare to even threaten him. He laughed a bit nervously.

"You *dare* to threaten *me*, do you?" he asked. "I accept the challenge." Bomba shrugged nonchalantly. For her, fighting, even someone larger than her, was no real problem.

"Okay." Bomba wore a funny sort of kittenish smirk on her face when she accepted as well.

It turned out that either she was a lot faster than Macavity or he couldn't actually bring himself to hurt a queen. Bomba dodged in and out, striking Macavity many times, leaving him with at least 30 cuts on various parts of his body. He growled, and eventually smacked her away. The force of the impact sent Bomba sprawling into the wall. She fell over, unconscious.

Tugger growled. "Okay bastard... my turn." Tugger, all in all, did more damage to Macavity than Bomba did. He suspected it was because he was slightly larger than Bomba, and was probably stronger.

Macavity was panting heavily when Tugger finally stopped his aggressive attacks. "Had enough?" he asked. He was barely fazed by the fighting he'd just endured.

"No." Macavity's answer was simple. Although he knew this was a fight he could never win, he was not about to let Demi go without maiming each of the cats who had come to save her.

"Good," Tugger replied. "I'm just getting started..."

*~*~*

For Demi, the fighting seemed to go on for an eternity. Munku had rushed over to release her, but found the duct tape hard to get off of her paws.

Macavity, enraged, threw Tugger into Munku, slamming them both into the wall on top of Bomba. Munku shoved Tugger off of him, and stood up, growling. Tugger momentarily glared at Munku, but brushed himself off and stood up as well. Macavity had vanished, and luckily, he hadn't taken Demi with him.

Bomba was sitting up now, picking at the duct tape that was wrapped around Demi's ankles. She was doing a fairly good job of not making Demi shriek in pain when she pulled it off. Demi herself was busy picking at what remained of the duct tape around her slender red forepaws.

When she was free, they fled Macavity's lair, each hoping that they would never have to return.

*~*~*

All four of them stayed at Tugger's human's home, because it was closer than the Junkyard, and they were all tired and cold.

Tugger turned on the electric fire place (which he had long ago figured out how to run) to help warm them up. He and Bomba curled up together on the plush rug in front of it.

Demi sat alone on a chair, looking at the floor, once again embarrassed because they'd risked their lives to save, of all Jellicles, her, from Macavity.

She flinched as Munku came up behind her and put his arms around her lovingly. He turned her around to face him.

"Don't feel so bad, Demi..." he said. "We showed Macavity that we aren't a force to mess with." He paused. "I don't think he'll kidnap you again." Demi sighed miserably.

"I hope you're right," she told him. "But I've learned something from this... uh... um... experience." She paused, wondering what words to use. "I learned that you love me more than he could... and if love truly prevails over everything like they say... then I'm meant to be with you..."

"I knew that a long time ago, Demi," Munku replied. He leaned toward her and kissed her.

*~*~*

Bomba yawned and stretched. Could it be morning already? She didn't think so, but it was.

The fire was still burning in the fire place, casting a warm glow on everything in the room. The other cats were still asleep. She yawned again and rose to her feet.

She would've slipped out the cat door and returned to the Junkyard if Demi hadn't been there. She'd worry about her with all the events with kidnapping that had happened recently. Instead, she sighed, and laid down again, next to Tugger.

He stirred, and rolled over to face her. "Good morning, Bomba," he said sleepily. Bomba guessed that he was only polite either to her or when he was half asleep.

There was a light thump behind them. They turned, and Demi was standing on the ground. Munku, still looking tired, was still sitting on the sofa.

"So, are we going back to the Junkyard?" asked Demi. She looked almost as if she hoped not because of how cold it had been outside the previous evening.

"No," Tugger replied. "Probably not for a while today, unless *you* want to leave." Demi rigorously shook her head. She did not want to nearly freeze her tail off again.

"That's what I suspected," Tugger told her with a grin. "I don't think any of us especially want to leave right now."

Demi felt a wave of dizziness wash over her, and she almost fell over. Instead, she slowly lowered herself to the ground. Instantly, Munku was at her side, as was Bomba. Tugger seemed to keep his distance.

"What's wrong, Demi?" asked Munku worriedly.

"I don't know," Demi replied shakily. Almost as quickly as it had come, the dizziness vanished. "Whatever it was, it's gone now," she assured them a moment later.

"That was weird," Bomba commented. "You should be careful, Demi. You don't know what's wrong with you..." Demi stopped her.

"I'll be fine Bomba," she said. "I always am. Besides, I am careful, always!" Bomba was tempted to disagree, but held her tongue in check.

"Anyone hungry?" asked Tugger, easing the heavy tension in the air by abruptly changing the subject.

*~*~*

"Shouldn't we go back to the Junkyard sometime today?" asked Demi, more because she knew they should than because she actually wanted to.

"Probably," Munku replied, honestly. Although he didn't tell her, he was worried about her. She'd never had dizzy spells before. He tried to convince himself that she was just not feeling well as he knew she'd tell him, but found it a difficult story to believe.

The four Jellicles had spent most of the day in Tugger's human's house. Outside, there were dark clouds over head, daring them to come out side, but they knew that as soon as they did, it would snow.

"I hope it snows," Bomba announced, confusing everyone as to why she had blurted that out. "Um... I have no idea why I just said that..." she explained lamely.

"You're silly," Demi giggled at her sister. Luckily, Bomba didn't take offense. Maybe she'd come around after nearly losing her sister. Maybe not. Who knew? Certainly not Demi. Not that she cared, as long as Bomba remained in good spirits.

"Personally," said Tugger, "I agree with Bomba. Snow is awesome..." Bomba rolled her eyes, knowing that he referred to snow-ball fights that he and his friends usually had every winter.

"You just like throwing those Bast aweful snow-balls at every moving thing you see," Bomba corrected. Tugger smiled.

"You know, Bomba," he began. "You're right! And this year, the first one I throw is going to be aimed directly toward you!" Again, Bomba rolled her eyes at the maned tom.

"As if I couldn't dodge!" she challenged. The squabbling between Tugger and Bomba continued for several minutes with Demi and Munku looking on, amazed that they could find a topic so easily to argue about.

"On second thought," Munku told Demi, "Let's leave. These two probably want to argue in private so no one can use it against them later." Demi nodded, and together they wandered toward the cat door.

Outside wasn't as chilly as they'd thought it would be, but the clouds overhead were still threatening to snow. Demi shivered slightly, and started toward the Junkyard. Munku followed not far behind.

*~*~*

"Hey..." Bomba asked a moment later. "Where'd they go?" She looked around the room, but saw no sign of either Demi or Munku.

"I think they left while we were arguing," Tugger replied. "They must've been annoyed with us." He shrugged. He could've honestly cared less. To him, Munku was stuck up and terribly annoying. Tugger preferred to live life to the fullest and not regret a move he made.

So did Bomba. She never enjoyed repentance, and therefore tried to avoid it at all costs, whatever the actual cost happened to be. Tugger considered her a near perfect match for himself, as did she, although neither one would ever admit to it.

"Hmph," Bomba said. "Why should they be annoyed with us?" She feigned ignorance on the subject.

"I have no idea," Tugger told her as he wrapped his arms around her. "I'll certainly never be annoyed with you."

"Nor I with you," replied Bomba. Tugger's embrace was warm and comforting, unlike the Junkyard, which at that time was probably freezing cold and foreboding.

Tugger leaned down slightly and kissed Bomba.

*~*~*

Demi's spirits lifted when she sighted the familiar Junkyard. She turned to Munku. "We're almost home!" she cried delightedly. Munku nodded.

A sharp gust of wind ruffled her fur, and chilled her. She shivered involuntarily, and quickened her pace almost unnoticeably. She wanted to get home.

For a moment, she thought she saw something move out of the corner of her eye. She turned, and saw nothing. Then she remembered something her friend Serenity had told her once.

'You know all those times you think you see something out of the corner of your eye?' she'd asked. 'There really is something there.'

It had creeped Demi out when she'd first had Rini tell her it, and it was worse now that she'd just seen something out of the corner of her eye. She shuddered slightly at the thought.

Suddenly, Munku put his arm around her. She leaned on him, and they continued on to the Junkyard.

*~*~*

"Where have you been?" demanded Jennyanydots. "That evil Macavity has been lurking around here since you left!"

"We were at Tugger's human's home," Munku explained. "And I figured he'd have come here. He's very predictable sometimes."

"Well, he may be to you, but I just don't like the way he's hanging around here! You never know who's going to be found missing or dead or-" Munku stopped her.

"Do I care about your paranoid concerns?" Jenny was taken aback. Since when was Munkustrap (of all toms) being so rude? That simply did not happen!

"Is something wrong?" she asked, her motherly concern very apparent in her voice and expression. "You're not one to be so rude normally."

"Not really," Munku replied. "Other than: having the queen I love kidnapped, my brother being totally annoying and not having much sleep for something like three days now."

"I see," Jenny commented. "Since when do you love Demeter?" she asked before Munku and Demi could leave.

"Is it really any of your business, Jenny?" Munku inquired. He didn't wait for her answer before leaving. Demi stayed behind.

"What have you done?" Jenny asked in a low voice. "You or him or both have obviously done something."

"I didn't do anything, Jenny," Demi replied. "I doubt that Munku did either."

"Then why is he acting so strangely?" Jenny demanded. Demi shrugged, honestly not knowing what Jenny was implying.

"He told you, didn't he?" she asked. "Besides, he's been too busy making sure I was safe to worry about sleep, so I imagine he's very tired." Jenny was not convinced.

"And the next thing you're going to tell me is that my beautiful Bombalurina ran off with that scum Rum Tum Tugger," Jenny scoffed.

"Actually," Demi replied, "She has." Jenny's patience was through; she would not have to take this from a mere kit.

"You're lying to be funny, aren't you?" she demanded furiously. "Bombalurina hates Rum Tum Tugger. Everyone knows that! You're lying!" Demi shook her head, surprised at Jenny's sudden outburst.

"No, I-"

"Get out of here! I don't want to see you ever again if you're going to lie to me!"

Tears blurred Demi's vision yet again, before she ran off, away from the Junkyard.

*~*~*

Demi ran as fast as she figured she could without running into anything. Tears still welled in her eyes. Her aunt, and only living relative besides Bomba, hated her because she didn't believe her! Demi didn't want to stay in a place filled with hate, especially that which was obviously directed against her, even if it was only from one other Jellicle.

She had no idea where she was going, or how far from the Junkyard would be far enough from the hate she felt growing there. She prayed to Bastet in the Heaviside to protect her from Pollicles and Pekes, so that she wouldn't have to deal with one.

Her prayers went unanswered. She rounded a corner, and a huge Pollicle dog was sniffing the side walk. She backed up quietly, but not quietly enough. The Pollicle looked up, and saw her. Demi knew it would consider her a threat to its territory, so she ran again, even though she was out of breath already.

The dog was not far behind as she ducked into the small hole in the side of a building. The Pollicle was too big to fit even its muzzle in the hole, so she was safe. Eventually it would lose interest. Dogs always did.

*~*~*

"We should probably go back to the Junkyard," Bomba murmured. She was still in Tugger's loving, warm embrace, and her head was leaned contentedly against his shoulder.

"I know," Tugger replied softly. "Shall we go, then?" Bomba nodded slowly.

"I want to make sure everyone knows we're alright," she told him. "They'll never believe Demi about it. They never do, and never have."

"No one's going to believe that I love you, Bomba," Tugger said, but Bomba only shrugged.

"The same is true of me," she replied. "We'll just have to convince them somehow. I don't have any idea how though."

Tugger and Bomba left through the cat door into the now chilly November/December air.

*~*~*

"Where have you been?" demanded Jenny when Bomba and Tugger returned to the Junkyard.

"At Tugger's house," Bomba replied nonchalantly. She hoped Jenny would leave it at that. She hoped in vain.

"What for?" Bomba sighed, exasperated. Jenny caused too many problems when she was worried. Bomba was a grown queen, for Bast's sake! She shouldn't be treated as a kit.

"Maybe it's none of your business," Tugger told Jenny. "Bomba's not a kitten anymore, and she needs to have some freedom." Bomba was surprised; he seemed to know what she had been thinking.

"What are you doing hanging around with that scum?" Jenny whispered harshly in Bomba's ear. "How many times have I warned you about-"

"He's not scum." Bomba told her defiantly. "He's not scum," she repeated, "And I love him."

"You do not!" Jenny hissed. "You can't! I won't permit it! He's the worst tom in the-" Bomba slapped her.

"You have no right to say that!" she was getting angrier by the second. Jenny was being so cruel! No wonder Munku and Demi were no where to be seen. "Where's Demi?"

"Like you, she was lying to me, so I demanded that she leave," Jenny replied. "And now the Junkyard is rid of the liar." Bomba was in utter disbelief. Jenny had always loved Demi! Something was definitely wrong with her.

"You chased her away?" asked Tugger, who until that time had stayed out of the argument.

"Yes." Jenny answered. "We Jellicles don't need liars hanging about, now do we?"

"She wasn't a liar," Tugger continued, remaining calm, although he had every right not to be. His love's sister had been forced to leave for telling the truth! It was outrageous.

"You just can't stand the fact that I've finally fallen in love. Unfortunately, you don't approve of my choice," Bomba said. "And that's too bad."

*~*~*

The Pollicle lost interest in trying to catch Demi after only a few minutes had passed. Once she was certain that it was gone, she lightly stepped out of the hole in the wall. It was now snowing lightly, but she sensed the snow would soon worsen.

She shivered, and slowly walked, wondering where to go. She couldn't stay around humans, for they'd turn her in to the shelter. From there, she'd be sold and never see her tribe again. Not that they wanted her, she reminded herself. Here she was, alone on the London streets in the snow, with no where to go, and totally unwanted.

Slowly, she closed her eyes, wishing she hadn't listened to Jenny and had gone after Munku. But that was the past. Now she knew that Jenny hated her. She didn't want to stay in a place full of hatred, even if others there loved her.

She stepped off the curb and into the deserted street. The wind whipped her fur around her face. It chilled her even through her long fur, which normally kept her warm.

Demi trotted across the street, but midway was surprised by a sudden, painful impact on her side. She was thrown back against the curb, and everything around her dissolved into utter blackness.

*~*~*

"C'mon Tugger," Bomba said. "We have to find Demi, since Jenny was being such a queer queen."

"'Queer'?" Tugger asked. "Not to be rude, but that's a major understatement." He wanted to ask if Jenny always talked about him like that, but refrained, because he knew Bomba was terribly worried about her sister. Besides, Demi hadn't exactly been normal for the last couple of days.

"I know," Bomba admitted, "I just couldn't think of anything else to describe it." Tugger laughed. "Hey!" Bomba scolded, lightly smacking him.

"Oh great," Tugger groaned. "It's snowing." Bomba looked up, and a snow flake landed in her eye. She shook her head to relieve the irritation.

"You're right," she agreed. "And if Demi's by herself, we'll have a big problem if we don't find her." Tugger nodded. He looked around, but could see no sign that Demi had been there.

Bomba sighed. "Where could she be? She's been depressed lately, so who in Bast's name knows what she may have done?" She looked at the ground. "She's probably convinced herself that we all hate her just because Jenny got mad at her."

Tugger nodded, and placed his paw around her sympathetically. He hoped they'd find Demi so Bomba wouldn't be so worried about her. Silently, he vowed to find Demi to make Bomba happy.

*~*~*

Demi slowly opened her eyes. Her head throbbed so badly that it hurt to think, her sides ached when she breathed, and her shoulders hurt. She could only vaguely remember what had happened. Moaning, she tried to rise to her feet. She found that her legs were like rubber and would not support her, so she sank back down.

The snow was falling harder, and her paws and tail were quickly going numb. The flakes of snow stung her eyes, so she closed them again. The throbbing in her head subsided slightly when she closed her eyes. All she could feel was cold, running through her body, seeming to consume her. She couldn't even bring herself to shiver any longer.

*~*~*

"Jenny?" inquired Munku some time later. "Where's Demi?" He looked at the older queen questioningly. For a moment, he thought Jenny hadn't heard him, for she didn't answer. He was about to ask again, when she spoke.

"She left," was all she said. She gave no reason, although Munku could tell merely from looking at her face that she was hiding guilt of some sort.

"There's more that you aren't telling me," he told her. Jenny looked at the floor, guiltily.

"She left because I told her to leave if she was a liar," she said softly, wishing that he hadn't asked her. She didn't want to admit she was wrong. It just wasn't something she'd had to do very much. She almost knew what Munku would ask next; what Demi had lied about.

"And what exactly did Demi lie to you about?" asked Munku, proving Jenny's prediction was correct. "She isn't normally one who would lie to you, Jenny."

Jenny's restraint was broken. She sobbed quietly. "Oh, I know it's really my fault," she said, although it was barely more than a whisper. "I refused to believe that her sister actually liked that scum, er, Rum Tum Tugger, when she told me. I-I told her to leave if she was going to lie to me about it. A-and then, Bomba and Tugger came back together a-and broke the news to me, you know, that they actually _did _like each other..."

"It's okay, Jenny," Munku told her. "I know you don't like Tugger, (I don't either), and you have always told Bomba to stay away from him. It was an honest mistake... I guess." Jenny sobbed again. "We just have to find Demi now." Jenny sniffled a bit, and nodded her head.

"I'm sorry," she said apologetically. "I didn't actually mean to make her run away again..."

"I know that," Munku replied, trying to comfort the older, marmalade queen. "You wouldn't intentionally do that to her. None of us would." Before he turned to leave, he added, "I'll be back when I find her."

*~*~*

"I wish I knew where to look for her," Bomba sighed. Demi had no humans, and no relatives that were not Jellicles. There was no where Bomba could think of that she'd go. She was getting upset.

"Me too," Tugger admitted. Both of them were lightly dusted with a fluffy white coat of snow flakes. "It's going to get dark soon," he observed. Bomba nodded.

"We'd better find her," she said. "If we don't, she could be in big trouble out here alone in the cold."

"I think you're starting to repeat yourself, Bomba," Tugger laughed slightly. "Maybe you'd better rest. You're too worried. If you want, you can go back to my place. I'll find Munku and together, we'll find your sister."

This solution seemed promising to Bomba, and for the first time, she realized that she was indeed very weary. She was also greatly worried about Demi, but she had confidence in Tugger, especially if he was going to look for her sister with Munkustrap.

"Sounds like a promising plan to me," Bomba said. "I hope you find her. I wish I wasn't too tired to stay and help. Please explain to Demi when you find her." As a good-bye, Bomba rose up on tip-toe and kissed Tugger lightly on the cheek. In an instant, she had disappeared into the shadows between the street lights.

Tugger heard paw steps behind him. He turned to see Munku approaching him from an alley.

"I thought I'd let you two finish," he explained. He paused. "Trying to get on Bomba's good side, eh?" Laughing, he added, "And it _is _obvious, Tugger."

Tugger groaned. "I guess I'll have to work on that."

"I think the first place we should look is Macavity's lair," Munku told the other tom. "Macavity would have seized this opportunity for sure if he saw Demi by herself, away from the rest of us." Tugger nodded. It was logical, but then again, he thought that sometimes Munku was almost too logical.

Tugger was not too anxious to go back to the evil lair of Macavity, but he agreed nonetheless. After all, hadn't he _promised _Bomba that he'd find Demi for her? And Munku was right. Macavity would have probably jumped at the chance to steal Demi away again if he'd found her alone and depressed, as he had the first time he'd kidnapped her.

"Let's go," Tugger insisted. "And hope that she's there," he added hopefully. He prayed that they weren't wasting their time. He wasn't looking forward to staying up all night looking for Demi.

Munku lead the way, and they quickly made it to Macavity's lair. Outside, there was no sign of any recent activity at all. There were no foot prints in the newly fallen snow that dusted the ground around them with a shimmering white luster.

"I don't think she's here," Tugger whispered. He didn't want any one who might be lurking around to hear them.

"Me either," Munku admitted, after finding no trace of Demi, not even her scent. "Which means," he continued as the distance between them and Macavity's lair steadily increased, "That we're going to have to search the streets for her."

*~*~*

Instead of going directly to Tugger's home, Bomba detoured and returned to the Junkyard. Perhaps there had been some sign of Demi there. She found Jenny weeping softly next to the old Ford.

"Don't feel bad," she said comfortingly. Jenny looked up, surprised to see Bomba. "Tugger and Munku are doing all they can to find Demi. And I don't think it's your fault she ran off. She was depressed anyway."

"I hope they find her," Jenny mumbled quietly. Her usually commanding voice was barely more than a whisper.

"I would stay here tonight," Bomba told her apologetically, "But Tugger would be worried. He told me to go to his human's home tonight, and if I didn't go, he'd be awefully worried about me when he got there and didn't find me waiting for him..."

Jenny nodded with her usual motherly understanding. "I understand Bomba. I just couldn't grasp the idea that you'd actually fallen in love with someone. And that it was, of all toms, the Tugger-"

The look on Bomba's face cut her protective aunt's speech short. "I know, Jenny. I know. I've heard it a million times. He's a player, I know. But I think he actually feels something for me... I can't really describe it, but it feels like magic every time I'm around him..."

"That's love, my dear," Jenny explained, smiling. "Now you go wait for him, and tell him that I've decided that if it's love you both feel for each other, then my disliking of him is over." Bomba purred exaltedly and grinned at her aunt.

"Thank you, Jenny!" she exclaimed, running off. Jenny sighed, and looked up at the cloud covered sky, wishing she could see the moon.

"I hope I didn't make a mistake..."

*~*~*

Demi's mind whirled. She was vaguely conscious again, but no longer had any recollection of what had happened to her. She could barely remember where she was or what she had been doing. She only remembered being driven away by a large amount of hatred.

Vaguely, she tried to flex her paws, to see if there was any chance that she might be able to walk. Her paws were so cold that they did little more than a dead tree limb might. Her left paw moved a fraction of an inch, shooting pain through her left shoulder.

Suddenly, she swore she saw a car coming at her. The lights glared into her eyes as she stood, frozen with fear. A blue car... But wait! Somehow, she was standing in the middle of the road! How?!

The vision faded as quickly as it had come. Demi realized that she was still laying, paralyzed with cold, on the curb of a street, in the bitter snow. The vision reminded her how she had gotten into this predicament, but she had no idea how to get out of it. Sighing, she gave up trying to move.

She sobbed slightly, suddenly realizing that she was probably now condemned to die of being frozen in the street, far away from those she loved, and worse, they would never know what had become of her.

*~*~*

Tugger's muscles tensed suddenly. He and Munku had just rounded an unfamiliar corner, and he swore he'd heard something. It was probably his imagination, he decided. However, he realized Munku had stopped, meaning that he'd heard it too. So it couldn't have been his imagination after all!

"Did you hear that?" asked Munku, his voice barely audible. Tugger nodded slowly. Munku's eyes scanned the darkened street, but he saw nothing out of the ordinary. "I don't see any-" he began, but Tugger was already investigating around the curb of the street.

Suddenly, the maned tom motioned silently for Munku. Had he found something, perhaps? Munku dashed over, being careful not to slip on a frozen puddle. Tugger indicated an indistinct dark coloured thing underneath a pile of snow. The pile quivered slightly. Some sort of animal had obviously been hit by a car and was now dying here. But wait- what if... Munku made up his mind. He was going to see if it was Demi.

Cautiously, slowly, he approached the darkened mound of snow. As he got closer, his fears were realized. The bloody mass of snow and matted dark and gold fur couldn't be anyone but Demi.

*~*~*

Demi involuntarily shuddered, shaking a lot of the snow off of her. Up until that time, the snow had luckily numbed the pain in her shoulder, but now that the snowfall was slowing, the pain was coming through the numbness. Her extremities, such as her tail and paws, were still numbed by the snow.

She vaguely felt someone, or something, touch her shoulder. She stirred slightly, and felt a sharp stab of pain run through her left shoulder again.

The next thing she knew, she felt strong arms lift her from the ground. Eyes open barely half way, she looked up, and discovered that once again, Munkustrap was her rescuer.

*~*~*

Munku gently pulled Demi's cold and injured form from the glittering snowy ground. She winced in pain and moaned quietly when he did.

"We should take her to my human's house," Tugger suggested. "It's too cold to just leave her at the Junkyard. Besides, Bomba will believe me that we found her that way." Munku nodded, and slowly rose to his feet.

"That would probably be the best idea," he agreed. Luckily, the Tugger knew a short-cut back to his human's home. It took them only a few minutes to arrive there. Bomba was waiting for them anxiously.

"You found her!" she cried, gleefully. "Thank Bastet!" She ran over and embraced Tugger. She looked up at him. "What in Bast's name happened to her this time?"

"I think she had a run-in with a car," Munku told her grimly. "And I think she's been in pain the whole way here." It was evident from her expression that Bomba was deeply concerned about her sister.

"Do you think she'll be alright?" she inquired. Munku merely shrugged, not knowing for sure himself.

"I don't know. Let's just try to warm her right now. She feels like ice," he replied. They went inside, and Munku and Tugger were glad to be out of the cold. Tugger's humans would not be home for another three or four days, so they still had the run of the house.

Demi stirred slightly again. Her eyes were half way open now, but they had a distressed glimmer to them. Munku laid her down gently on the bed in the master bedroom. Tugger got the electric fire place in the room going. It was apparent that they were all going to stay in there that night.

Bomba came in with a folded up blanket which she had managed to find for Demi to use. She carefully undid the folds, and placed it over her sister. Demi shivered, and she wrapped herself in the soft folds of the fleecy fabric. Munku smiled at her, and stroked her cheek gently with his paw.

Demi found Munku's gentle touch comforting. She was beginning to regain feeling in her paws. All she really cared about was that she was somewhat warm, safe, and surrounded by Jellicles she loved. She purred softly.

Munku laid down next to Demi, and almost immediately fell into a deep, dreamless, and much deserved sleep.

Tugger slipped his arms around Bomba, and she snuggled against him, purring quietly. He kissed her forehead, and they both drifted off to sleep.

*~*~*

Dawn came all too quickly once again for Bomba. It seemed like she'd just fallen asleep, and now she was awake, and it was light outside. How the night flew away!

Tugger had just woken as well, but Munku and Demi were both still sleeping. Tugger kissed Bomba once again.

"Good morning," he whispered softly in her ear.

"The same to you," she whispered back. She yawned, and leaned backward over his arm to stretch. She stretched until her shoulders touched the floor.

"Please don't do that," Tugger told her. "No offense, of course, but it's wrong looking. No one should be able to bend like that." Bomba giggled quietly and grinned at him.

"I know," she said. "Jenny and Demi often told me the same exact thing. I, however, think it's pretty cool."

Munku stirred, and sat up. He looked at them, with a weird expression on his face.

"What?" demanded Tugger. "I'm not doing anything!" he insisted. Bomba laughed.

"Wanna see something cool that I can do?" she asked. Without waiting for a response, she bent backward again. Both toms either closed their eyes or looked away. "It's not that gross!" she protested. Munku rolled his eyes.

"Actually Bomba," he said, "It _is_ that gross." Demi, or rather the blanket that was on top of her, for that was all the other Jellicles could see, stirred and rolled onto her back. Her eyes opened, and she blinked a few times to adjust her eyes to the light.

"What happened?" she asked, her voice hushed for some reason. "All I remember is... a car... it was blue... and then pain... in my left shoulder... how did I get here?" She slowly sat up and looked around the room. "Where is here?"

"This is my human's bedroom," Tugger explained. "Munku and I came looking for you. Bomba would've come too, but she was so worried and tired that she was beginning to repeat herself." Bomba elbowed him sharply.

"You don't have to tell the whole world that I was actually tired, okay?" she hissed. Tugger merely grinned. Then he shrugged, which meant, 'I can if I want to.' Tugger's usual attitude had returned. Why couldn't he be sweet all the time?

"Whatever," Demi said tiredly. She yawned, and then she shuddered. "It's freezing in here," she declared, when it was obvious to the other Jellicles that it was almost uncomfortably warm.

"Uh-oh," Munku said. "Something's wrong, Demi. It's hot in here, not cold." He touched her cheek, and it was still like ice.

Demi trembled again, and Munku pulled her close. She was obviously scared. Her body temperature must have been extremely low not to have returned to normal after a whole night.

Bomba didn't know what to do. Was there anything she could do to help her sister, now that she needed her more than any other time? She wracked her brain, but came up with nothing.

"Is there anything we can do to help her?" she asked at last. Munku shook his head.

"I don't know," he replied. Demi looked up at him, terror evident in her eyes.

"A-am I g-going to d-die?" she stumbled over the sentence. Tears welled in her eyes, and she buried her head in the thick fur of his chest.

"No, Demi," Munku replied, his voice a low, comforting tone. Demi sobbed a bit. "I won't let you die," he continued. Looking up at Bomba, he said, "Do you know where Serenity lives?" Bomba nodded. "Find her. She has some sort of healing powers, I've seen her use them. She might be able to help Demi." Again, Bomba nodded. She ran out of the room, and from there left the house.

*~*~*

Serenity lived in the botanist's house down the street a few blocks. She would most likely be there, being neither a stray or a Jellicle. Bomba couldn't think of a reason why Serenity wasn't a Jellicle. She was perfectly nice, and all of the Jellicles liked her. And she did have black and white in her fur, although she was mostly an odd shade of blue.

Rini had seen Bomba coming; she always did, no matter who called on her. She met Bomba in the green house.

"What's up? Is some one sick?" asked the blue queen, inquisitively. "It's not Misto, is it?" Rini had always had a crush on Misto, and had never gathered enough courage to tell him.

"No," Bomba explained. "It's Demi. She was hit by a car yesterday during the early afternoon. We didn't find her until late last night, and she's still really cold and sick. Tugger, Munku and I wanted to know if you could help." Rini thought for a minute.

"Sure!" she agreed. She smiled at Bomba, knowing how upset she must be about Demi. "I'll do anything I can to help."

Bomba led the way back to Tugger's house, with Serenity in tow.

*~*~*

"That didn't take long," commented Tugger when the two queens returned to his home. Rini rolled her eyes at the maned tom, and sighed.

"I only live two blocks down the street, Tugger," she reminded him. "It's not exactly going to take forever to get to where I live from here." She paused. "Let's see what I can do to help Demi."

The three cats went into the bedroom. Demi had stopped sobbing, and Munku was still holding her. Rini easily leapt upon the bed, and looked at Demi, her eyes gradually shading from gray to a deep blue violet.

"Lay her down," Rini instructed. "And get off the bed. I'm going to put her in a trance; that'll help my magic work." Munku silently obeyed her. Rini knew what she was doing.

Rini uttered no sound, but began moving her paws over Demi, keeping about an inch of air between her paws and Demi's body. Slowly, the black queen began to relax; to fall asleep.

Once Demi was in the trance, a strange ritualistic thing happened. Rini moved her paws as if she were clutching an invisible orb, holding them about six inches away from her. Gradually as she concentrated, a blue sphere of glowing energy formed between her paws. The Jellicles looked on in absolute astonishment. The glowing blue orb shaded to green.

"Emerald...for healing..." murmured Rini softly. For a moment, the orb seemed to solidify into an emerald, but in the next instant, it was a glowing sphere again. Rini straightened her arms, holding the orb about a foot away from Demi. She turned her paws so that they faced Demi, and the orb melted into the injured queen.

Rini pulled her arms back, and replaced them in the position that they had first held the emerald green orb. Again, a blue sphere materialized between her paws, but this time, it shaded to orange, glowing intensely.

"Topaz...for warmth..." Rini said quietly. Immediately, but only for a second, the orb solidified into a topaz. After, it became fluid fire again. Rini straightened her arms again, and then sent the orange colored ball of light into Demi. The ritual was over.

*~*~*

"She'll sleep for at least another hour now," Rini informed the Jellicles. "But she'll be entirely healed when she wakes up." Somehow, Rini's eyes had changed to a green color.

"Thank you so much Rini!" Bomba cried. "I don't think I can ever repay you for this..."

"You don't have to repay me," Rini said. "You are my friends. I help my friends, free of charge, especially when someone could die if I didn't help them." It was a noble explanation. Rini smiled at them. She was never unhappy, and was always willing to put everyone else first, before she thought about herself, or the consequences of her actions.

"Actually..." she continued after a moment's pause, "You could let me stay here for the night." She grinned. "My humans are having a 'party' tonight, and I don't feel like being a part of it." Tugger shrugged in reply.

"I don't really care who stays here as long as they aren't smelly or evil," he told her. Rini smiled again.

"Great!" she exclaimed jubilantly. Tugger held his paw up, indicating that he wasn't finished yet.

"And as long as they promise not to be as ditsy as they usually are and try not to break anything too valuable," he added. Rini giggled, but it could easily have been called 'cackling'.

"Don't worry," she replied. "I'll try not to... this time." Bomba rolled her eyes, thinking 'If I know Rini, which I do, she will break something valuable'.

"I might tend to worry anyway, Rini," he replied. "With you involved, anyway." Rini shrugged nonchalantly.

"You can if you want to, but I think worrying ruins all the fun in life," she told him. He gave her a stern look that said to her, 'I know, but with you, who wouldn't worry?'.

*~*~*

In about an hour, exactly as predicted, Demi awoke. She was almost completely rejuvenated, and didn't feel in the least bit sickly or cold. She was, however, a bit stiff from being still for so long at once.

Her appearance was, she imagined, currently quite frightening, as her fur was plastered in almost every direction by the blood that had come from her wounds after she had been hit by the car. Only now there was no trace that she had ever been wounded by her experience.

She blinked a few times, allowing her eyes to adjust to the light of the room. None of the Jellicles were in with her, confident that she would recover thanks to Rini. She quietly nudged open the door, and managed to find her way into the living room, where she found the other Jellicles. She approached them quietly, but they noticed her nonetheless.

"Demi!" Munku announced, rising to his feet from where he was sitting on a braided floor rug. Demi smiled at them gratefully.

"Serenity," she began, "Thank you... for saving my life. I owe you a lot, my friend." Rini merely grinned.

"Hey, it was nothing," she objected. "If I have the power to do that, why shouldn't I use it to help my friends, and any one else who needs my help?" The question did not need an answer. All of the Jellicles present knew that it was a noble cause, and that she was correct about it.

Demi snuggled next to Munku, and the two of them laid down together. Bomba laughingly whispered to Rini and Tugger, "Maybe we should leave them alone...?" Rini grinned, and nodded her approval of the plan.

"I think they'd approve of that," she giggled. Then she, Bomba and the Tugger quietly exited the room and went into the kitchen. Rini stretched a bit on the floor, and then leapt atop the pale blue tiled counter. She pirouetted, and promptly fell off of the counter and onto the floor with a loud thud. Bomba couldn't help laughing at her fallen friend, and luckily, Rini wasn't at all offended by it. She merely rose to her feet and acted like it had never happened. She dusted herself of, and giggled a bit, for it was her nature to be happy all the time. Bomba merely rolled her eyes.

"Don't be a ditz," Tugger warned, "Okay, Rini?" Rini grinned like an innocent child at him, and he sighed, knowing that she wouldn't listen to him.

"Sure, Tugger," she promised. "I'll try." Although her words were genuine, both Bomba and Tugger knew that she wasn't a ditz on purpose, and that she would inevitably do something ditzy anyway.

Bomba snuggled up to Tugger, but to her annoyance, he completely ignored her. *Typical,* she thought angrily, although she did not have any outward signs of it, *Just typical. Someone else is here and he refuses to show any emotion toward me.* She growled under her breath, but so quietly that neither of the other two cats heard. Her expression was blank; she was a good actress.

It really got on her nerves how Tugger acted around her when other Jellicles or cats were around. It was so unfair! Why couldn't she have a relationship like Demi had, with someone who always cared about her, not just in private?

She hated to admit it, but she was almost jealous of her little sister. Demi had found someone she loved, and who loved her back, and was not a player. She wished that Tugger could be like that too, but knew she could probably never change him.

*And so,* she asked herself, *Am I getting myself into something I don't want to be into by having a relationship with Tugger? Am I just going to get my heart broken?* At that point, she couldn't find an answer to either question. She decided to figure it out that evening, so that she wouldn't have anyone wondering about her silence. She wondered if perhaps Jenny had been right about Tugger all along, and that she should have listened to her aunt.

She realized that she had lost track of their conversation. "When did you figure out you had magic?" Tugger was asking Rini. The blue queen shrugged nonchalantly.

"I guess I've always known I had it, but most people didn't believe a word I said about it," she admitted. "Even I was amazed when I found out I had been right. I had almost started to believe what they said; that magic didn't exist." Bomba found it easy to jump into such a conversation.

"Magic exists," Bomba said, "I feel it every time I dance, especially at the Jellicle Ball." Her story was true, for her and for every other Jellicle that danced under the Jellicle moon. The magic connecting them to the Moon and its guardian Bastet was strong enough for them all to feel, through every movement they made.

Their conversation dragged on for a few more moments longer, before Rini started to zone out and dance around again. Bomba and Tugger both looked at her quizzically, wondering why she was dancing around. Bomba raised her eyebrow at her friend.

Demeter and Munkustrap sauntered in together after a few more minutes. Demeter was purring softly, and Munku had his arms around her protectively. Bomba watched them, with only the slightest hint of her inner jealousy showing in her glimmering green eyes. True, and as she had hoped, no one noticed it, but it was indeed there, a silvery spark in the deep green of her eyes.

Perhaps Tugger would someday come around, and realize that the kits that followed him everywhere would never care for him the way she did. Perhaps not. She could not be certain, but she didn't want to waste the better part of her life waiting to see.

Demi noticed her sister's downcast attitude after a while, and took her aside. "Bomba, what's wrong?" she asked, her voice hushed to protect her sister's feelings. "You don't still feel bad about the way you treated me, do you?"

"No... it's not that," Bomba admitted, somewhat shier than she normally was about her emotions. "It's Tugger." Demi made eye contact with her saddened sister.

"What about him?" Demi inquired. "You love him, and he loves you, right?" She paused to let her sister answer. When no answer came, she continued, "Or does he?"

Bomba shrugged. "To tell you the truth, I can't honestly be sure whether he loves me or not. True, he can be so kind and loving to me, but only when no one else is around. If anyone at all is nearby, then he just sort of... brushes me away. I feel so lost..." Bomba forced back the tears that she knew would soon come if she let her emotions out.

"I have an idea," interjected Serenity, who had, as usual, been eavesdropping. "We just have to make him realize how much he loves you." She grinned almost evilly. "And I know just how to do it..."

*~*~*

That evening, to put Rini's plan into effect, the three queens left for Rini's house, where they were going to stay for a while, or for the night if it got to be too late before they returned to the Junkyard. In addition, Munku returned to the Junkyard, also a part of Rini's wonderful plan to help Bomba.

Rini stopped Bomba and Demi, and ran ahead to get her friend who would help them be convincing in their story of what would happened.

*~*~*

A scream, more of a desperate cry for help, woke Tugger from the nap he'd chosen to take after everyone had left his home. The voice sounded familiar, but it was so twisted with fear that he couldn't tell whether it came from Bombalurina, Demeter or Serenity.

He rushed to the window to see what he could do. The three queens were being chased by a small Pollicle dog! Bomba turned to the dog, instructing the other two queens to get help, or at least get away, and then pounced for the dog herself, planning to at least save the other queens.

Tugger didn't wait a minute. He dashed for the cat door and ran outside to help Bomba fend off the dog. Bomba was really happy, but she didn't let it show. The dog ran away, exactly as Rini had instructed it.

"Tugger," Bomba began, out of breath, "You came to help me..." Tugger grinned at her, and lifted her off the ground where she had been knocked by the dog.

"Why wouldn't I?" he asked. "I love you, Bomba." Bomba hated to shatter the tender feel of the moment, but she had to tell him how she felt about his normal attitude.

"Then why don't you show it when there are other people around?" she demanded. "Are you afraid of what it'll do to your reputation?" Her voice sounded more demanding and cruel than she'd wanted it to, but there was nothing to be done about it.

Tugger said nothing. He really couldn't think of a reason why he had always wanted to keep their relationship a secret, known to no one but themselves. He was surprised at how suddenly it had come up.

"I'm sick of always being shoved aside unless we're alone," Bomba continued. "It's heart-wrenching to me! I can never tell if you really love me or are just playing with my mind as though I'm a pawn in some sort of twisted love game!"

"Bomba, I didn't know you hated it so much..." Tugger responded finally. Bomba made no move. She turned away after a long pause.

"Now you know," she snapped rather rudely, and she regretted it. She hoped she hadn't angered him, for it hadn't been her intent to do so. She blinked. "I'm sorry if I upset you... I- I was rude, and I didn't mean to hurt you..."

Tugger cocked his head. "Hurt me?" he asked. "Hell no. You aren't the first person I've known to think I was an egotistical freak, whose image was the most important thing to him." He took her paw. "Come inside for a minute and warm up," he offered, noting that her paw was taking on an icy touch from being in the cold air for a while. "Then we'll go back to the Junkyard," he promised.

"No," Bomba replied. "If I come in, then I won't want to go back to the Junkyard. I'm fine, and I'll survive being a bit chilly."

Tugger shrugged. "Your choice," he responded. "But I'll come with you." His answer surprised Bomba, but she was happy. Perhaps she could make him change his ways, at least for a while.

Together, they made for the Junkyard. They arrived in a little less than fifteen minutes, as they knew several shortcuts along the way.

Upon their arrival, Jennyanydots and some of the kittens seemed a little annoyed to see them together, but neither Bomba nor Tugger really cared what they thought. Together, they snuggled next to one of the tires of the old ford.

*~*~*

"I see my idea worked," Rini commented triumphantly to Demeter. She grinned happily, and gleefully spun around in circles. Demi remained quiet, wondering how she could repay Rini for all she had done. She knew that the blue queen didn't want to be paid for her help, but she didn't feel right about not giving her something in return.

Then it struck her. Get Rini a date with her crush, Mistoffelees. If she could get the idea past Victoria, that is. Victoria was nice, and a good friend, but sometimes she could be extremely stubborn, just like Jennyanydots. Demi decided that somehow, she would arrange it, whether Vicci liked it or not.

Victoria was pursuing Misto, although he rarely noticed her, if he noticed her at all. It really annoyed her, but it was fun to watch her try and get his attention. She didn't know it, but he had no real interest in ever being her mate.

Demi was certain she could get him to at least meet Rini. So as to not look as though she were plotting something, Demi didn't run off to find him right away. She decided to wait until Rini was gone, or preoccupied with talking to someone else to find the magician and arrange a meeting between him and the blue queen.

She was so lost in thought that she didn't even sense Munku come up behind her. She didn't know he was there until he slipped his arms around her waist. She turned to face him, and put her arms around his neck. She rested her head against his chest, and purred contentedly. She heard Rini stalk away, but decided her plan could wait.

*~*~*

"POLLICLE!" the cry came from several places seemingly at once. Startled, Munku and Demi looked around. There was no dog to be seen, at least not from where they were. Munku kissed Demi lightly, and ran off to make sure everyone was all right. She hoped he wouldn't put himself in too much danger trying to save the members of the tribe.

To keep herself safely out of harm's way, Demi crawled underneath a nearby desk that had been thrown out. It smelled of old wood, and she found the smell of it overpowering. Still, she forced herself to remain hidden, lest the Pollicle decide to chase her instead of someone else.

Frowning, she noted that silence surrounded her. *What's going on?* she thought, curiosity getting the better of her, crawling from her secluded hiding spot. There was no one around. She decided they were probably all hiding, but since she couldn't detect any dogs, she thought that it must have gone.

A sharp howl from behind her changed her mind on that. The Pollicle was no more than ten feet away from her! Her eyes widened, and she instantly set off, running as fast as her slender legs could carry her.

Luckily, it was fast enough. She quite easily outdistanced the clumsy Pollicle, which she noticed was little more than a puppy. Still, she hissed at it, and darted further when she regained her breath. She wanted to put as much distance between herself and the Pollicle as she could.

Finally, she stopped, deciding that she had gone far enough for her taste. She didn't need to leave the Junkyard. After all, it was just a Pollicle, not Macavity.

She felt ill at ease just thinking about the tom who had tried twice to tear her away from her tribe. She knew that through his magic, he could be virtually anywhere, plotting anything. *I must always be on my guard,* she decided. *I don't want him to ever get me away from the Jellicles, from my home, and from Munku.*

*~*~*

Munku was worried about Demeter. She had run off when she'd seen the Pollicle, and he hadn't been able to find her since. It had been nearly an hour. He tried to convince himself that she had hidden and hadn't come out yet, but he couldn't help worrying about her after the events of the past few days.

He finally found her sitting amid tall mounds of human trash, completely lost in thought. He paused, watching her for several moments before he approached, wanting to give her time to sense his presence before he scared her.

"Demi?" he began. She jumped slightly, and her eyes lost their dazed look. She looked at the ground nervously.

"You startled me," she told him, and he smiled back at her. Slowly, she rose to her feet, and stepped forward, her eyes still focused more on the ground than on Munku.

Munku's paw caressed her jawbone, and lifted her chin until she was looking him in the eyes. "I was worried about you," he told her.

"You don't need to worry that much about me," she insisted shyly, amazed that he cared enough about her to worry so much in such a small amount of time over something so little. Still, she tried to see things from his point of view, and realized that he had a right to worry after she had been kidnapped twice recently and become very ill as well.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "That was rude of me. Of course you worry about me..." She was silenced by a soft kiss from the silver tom. She blushed so deeply she could feel it burning in her cheeks.

"And you don't have to be so apologetic about everything you say," he remarked, his voice somewhat quieter than usual, she supposed so that no one would overhear their conversation.

Again, Demi blushed. It seemed so odd to have someone talking only to her, and not to her sister. She was glad that Munku couldn't see her blushing through her thick fur.

She wanted to turn away because the situation made her feel so incredibly ackward, and yet could not bring herself to. She knew already that she loved Munku, but she was nervous. What would Bomba think of her relationship? If her sister got angry, only Bastet knew what she would do to both of them.

Munku noticed her sudden withdrawal. A glimmer of concern flared in his deep blue eyes. "Demi?" he asked softly. Startled, she jumped slightly. "What's bothering you?"

"Nothing," she hastily lied, not wanting him to think her foolish for considering her sister's opinion. Munku's stern expression remained, and she figured that he knew she was lying.

"No," he replied, "Something is bothering you, and I want to know what it is." Demi sighed, but relented and decided to tell him.

"I was worried, about what Bomba thinks about ... well," she couldn't find a word for what she wanted to say. She sighed.

"Our relationship?" Munku suggested. "I don't think she minds, because if she did, knowing Bomba she would have mentioned it by now." He looked at her more tenderly. "And do you think I would let her interfere anyway? I would have found a way to be with you no matter what Bomba said about it."

Demi smiled briefly, and purred softly. She was finally relaxing about finding someone who loved her for who she was, not so they could get cozy with her sister. She felt whole and content, for the first time in a long while, as though there wasn't anything she desired to have, except to have Munku with her.

She sighed softly, contentedly, and leaned her head against the thick fur of his chest.

*~*~*

"I'm glad to see that Demi's finally found someone to be with," Bomba sighed, genuinely happy for her sister. She and Tugger were still snuggling together under the Old Ford.

Although he wondered why Bomba was so concerned with her little sister's happiness, he agreed: "Me too. She always seemed a little uptight and depressed. It was depressing just to be around her."

Bomba frowned. "That's just the way she is," she informed him, her voice had a hint of anger in it. She hadn't meant to sound as hostile toward him as she had, but she knew he was most likely unfazed by what she had said.

"I know that," Tugger retaliated, but his retort wasn't as mean sounding as it would have been if they hadn't previously expressed their honest feelings toward each other.

Bomba sighed contentedly. At least Tugger was getting used to spending time with only her instead of all the queens in the Junkyard at one time. She knew it would be hard to keep him from returning to his old ways even when she wasn't with him, but she was making progress.

She began to watch her little sister, Demi, more out of habit than curiosity or worry. Demi was talking with Munkustrap, and was wrapped in his embrace. Even though she couldn't hear what they were saying, Bomba knew that her sister was safe and happy. She only hoped it would remain to be that way.

She knew that she had always treated her sister badly, but didn't really know how she should treat her. They had grown up without a mother, and Bomba was always mad about having to watch her younger sister. To her, Demi had always seemed like a burden, and it had always been natural to make her feel bad about it.

Only recently had Bomba realized how much it had hurt Demi to know that she was a burden on her sister. When Demi had begun to comprehend what Bomba said to her, she took it to heart and listened to what she said. It made Bomba glad that she'd never told Demi to kill herself, because she probably would have.

If Tugger noticed that Bomba was lost in thought, he said nothing to bring her back to reality. He sensed that she needed to sort through and come to terms with her life. He decided to let her do so, provided that's what she was doing, and was content to lay with her while she did it.

*~*~*

Macavity growled to himself from where he was spying on the happy Jellicles. His face held a scornful expression. They were too happy. He, however, was not. He wanted Demeter to be his, not Munkustrap's.

To him, the situation was unfair. Munkustrap had gotten another thing _he_ had wanted. Only this time, he fairly stung with jealousy. This time, it was a mate that Munku had stolen from him. That mate was Demeter, and he was determined to get her for his own, whether he had to force her to go with him or not.

She would be his mate, someday. He was sure of it. He would not let Munku take that from him. No. He would not let Munku keep him from his love.

*~*~*

Demeter sensed something evil, something horrible. She blinked, and tried to tell herself she was imagining things, but the impending evil was something she could not bring herself to turn her back on.

"Munku," she whispered, too nervous to raise her voice above a whisper. "There's something evil here..." Her voice was so quiet that Munku barely heard her, but his concern was evident.

"What is it?" he asked her, wondering if what she sensed was something that the other Jellicles couldn't. His eyes scanned the surrounding area of the Junkyard, but he detected nothing unusual.

"I don't know," Demi admitted, knowing it would sound a bit unusual to Munku, but it was the truth. She tried to discern more from her feeling, but could find nothing except a definite sense of foreboding. "I can't tell for sure what it is..." She shuddered.

Munku's expression remained serious. He didn't know what he could do. He could see nothing out of the ordinary at all, nor could he sense anything was wrong. Eventually it dawned on him that Macavity might be nearby.

"Is it Macavity?" asked Munku. Demi blinked, and tried to decipher her foreboding feeling.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I believe so," she replied at last, her voice nervous and quiet. Her eyes shifted around, making sure that she was safe at least for the time being.

"Is it _me_?" laughed a taunting voice that seemed to come from everywhere at once. "As if it would be anyone else, you ask if I am the evil presence she senses?" Macavity laughed, and the very sound of it chilled Demeter, seemingly all the way to her bones.

Munku hissed. "Go away, Macavity!" he spat, his voice hostile toward the Mystery Cat. To that, Macavity rolled his eyes, although he knew he was hidden from them.

"Why in holy Sekhmet's name would I do that?" he asked, his voice mocking the silver tom. Munku growled quietly, and held Demi tightly. She quivered, and remained watchful.

In a flash of light, Macavity appeared before the startled pair. On his face was an evil grin. He pounced at Munku and Demi. Munku pushed Demi out of the way before the Mystery Cat hit them, and took the blow himself. Upon hitting the ground, he was stunned, but only for a second. He threw Macavity off of him, and jumped to his feet.

The two toms growled, and Macavity pounced for Munku again, once more knocking him to the ground. Munku's vision was blurred by the impact, but he blinked a few times and it returned to normal. He growled angrily.

"Stay away from her, Macavity," he hissed at the Mystery Cat. He rose to his feet and took a defensive pose.

"Why should I stay away from her?" scoffed Macavity. "I have every right to pursue her."

"Not any more, Macavity," Munku spat. "She's my mate now, and you can't have her - ever!" Macavity looked a bit surprised, and then his eyes narrowed and turned darker with anger and hatred.

"One more thing you've taken from me..." hissed Macavity, pouncing at Munku once more, with his vicious claws unsheathed. His claws sank deep into Munku's shoulders, ripping open the wounds from their last battle, and the silver tabby cried out in pain.

Munku kicked Macavity in an effort to unhook the red tom's claws, but to no avail. Macavity dragged his claws downward slightly, sending stabs of pain shooting through Munku.

"Munku!" cried Demeter, suddenly realizing what was going on. Not caring about the consequences, she ran to help her mate.

"Demi, be careful!" Bomba warned, and raced out from where she had been with Tugger to help her sister.

Macavity saw Demeter, but he never had a chance to see Bomba, who was coming from the opposite direction of her sister. She hitch-kicked, and kicked Macavity in the back of the head. The Mystery Cat growled and released his hold on Munku. He turned to face his new opponent, and Bomba landed another kick on him, this time on the shoulder.

As if he had foreseen the move, Macavity caught Bombalurina by the foot she kicked him with. He easily tossed her to the ground, where she landed on her head with a loud thud.

Munku pounced from behind, knocking the Hidden Paw to the ground, unfortunately, on top of Bomba. Bomba cried out as they landed on her, and Macavity threw Munku off of him again, and hastily got off of the hissing red queen.

Macavity growled, and picked Bomba up by the neck. "Stop being so troublesome! You just get in my way!" he yelled angrily. Bomba's only reply was a loud hiss, and slashing at him with her claws.

Out of no where, Tugger tackled the Hidden Paw, knocking him to the ground, causing him to release Bomba, who landed on top of the two fighting toms.

Bomba hastily rose to her feet, but didn't know how to aid Tugger. He seemed to be doing fine on his own, but she was still worried that the Mystery Cat might overpower him. Then he would definitely need her help.

*~*~*

"Bomba," the words were hushed and came from behind, but Bomba could tell from the voice that it was Jennyanydots. Bomba turned her head to face her aunt, who was in the shadows.

"I know how we can help... if, that is, Tugger and Munku can get Macavity over here," the marmalade queen explained. Both queens watched the fight, looking carefully for a moment when they might try their plan.

When she saw the perfect moment, Jenny told Bomba, "Dive in front of Macavity..." Bomba thought for an instant that her aunt was crazy, but obeyed nonetheless.

Macavity kept his eyes on Bomba, wondering what she could possibly think she was doing. Suddenly, he was hit from behind by a marmalade ball of fur called the Gumbie Cat.

The Hidden Paw stumbled into Bomba, lost his balance and fell. Bomba scrambled out from under Macavity, and proudly sat on him. She then began to nonchalantly groom her paw.

Munku and Tugger just stared at the triumphant queens in awe. They had succeeded in seconds at subduing the Mystery Cat.

*~*~*

The Jellicles lounged contendly, although it was chilly, in the moonlight filled Junkyard that evening. Defeated, Macavity had managed to squirm out from under Bomba and make his escape, but the Jellicles were not worried about him coming back any time soon.

As Demi lay in Munku's arms, she purred contentedly. "Do you think Macavity will come back?" she asked quietly, her voice hushed as it usually was.

"I don't know," Munku admitted. "One can never tell for sure with a fiend like Macavity. If he does ever come back, it won't be for a while, and I'm sure it will only be to recover part of his wounded pride after such a defeat."

"I must admit," Tugger chimed in, "I never thought that of all Jellicles, Jennyanydots would be the one to defeat Macavity."

Jenny grinned smugly at the younger Jellicles. "Never underestimate someone just because they seem gentle," she told them. "I have had my fair share of fighting experience."

Munku raised an eyebrow at her, but said nothing. He held Demi close, relieved to know that for once, she was in no danger. Demeter smiled, and when Munku followed her gaze, he noticed Serenity and Mistoffelees cuddling together beside the drain pipe.

"That's your doing, isn't it, Demi?" Munku asked his mate quietly. She nodded.

"I had to repay her for what she did somehow, and it was the only way I could think of to do it," she replied innocently. "After all, Munku, if it wasn't for Rini, I wouldn't be here, with you." Munku kissed her.

Bomba stuck out her tongue at the two lovers and buried her face in Tugger's mane. "EEeeew!" she said. "Save me from the mushiness of this!! Save me!"

Tugger laughed at her. "And why in Bastet's name would I want to do that?" he asked, laughter still in his voice. Bomba glared at him. She looked back over at her sister and Munku, and stuck out her tongue again.

"Can't they do that somewhere else?!" she cried. If Munku and Demi heard her loud complaints, they made no move to make her any happier.

"My, Bomba," Jenny giggled, "If I didn't know better, I'd swear you were acting just like a kitten..." Bomba glared angrily at her aunt, but refrained from saying anything more. She sighed, and sat down on the ground grumpily.

"I'm not a kitten," she grumbled. Tugger, feeling kind of remorseful about being mean to her, knelt down beside her.

"Even if you were a kitten, you'd be my lover," he assured her. Bomba looked at him.

She raised an eyebrow. "You're not serious." she said, her disbelief evident. "If you wouldn't care that I was a kitten, how come you're so mean to Etcetera because she's a kitten?"

Tugger groaned. Why did Bomba always have to point out his faults in front of everyone else?! "Because," he replied at last, "I don't love her, and I love you."

Bomba rolled her eyes. "Oh, really?"

"Yes," Tugger told her, silencing her with a kiss.

*~*~*

Jennyanydots smiled at her neices and the toms who loved them, and departed silently. She knew that they probably wanted to be alone. Still, she remained not far away, wanting to be near them in case they needed her for any reason, although she doubted that they would. She was finally beginning to realize that they were drifting away from her protective nest, and that she would have to let them live their own lives.

She sighed softly, and found a place to lay down. She rested her head on her dainty marmalade paws, and drifted off to a contented sleep.


End file.
